Students create app to vanquish revision stress

Two medical students from the University of Leeds have launched a new study platform in an effort to beat revision stress and increase memory retention by up to 80 per cent.

James Gupta and Omair Vaiyani created Synap (formerly MyCQs) in October 2015 when they were looking for alternatives to traditional revision methods and new ways to improve their own learning habits.

Synap is a tailormade study aid that utilises artificial intelligence algorithms to enhance the learning experience for students and teachers, so that last minute panic revision for end of term exams is a thing of the past.

Gupta, a final year medical student, felt that traditional methods of learning didn’t provide a stable level of knowledge retention for exam settings.

“Traditional methods such as re-reading a textbook lead to a temporary, unreliable kind of knowledge that is difficult to apply in real situations,” he said.

“Synap will transform the way we learn and provide student with a much more effective solution to last minute cramming.”

The app allows users to create, practice and share quizzes in a Multiple-Choice Question format. Intelligent algorithms analyse how students are performing in different areas to produce a personalised learning plan and to notify users of the ideal time to revisit certain questions.

The platform has been listed as one of the 10 British Artificial Intelligence companies to look out for by Business Insider, as well as being featured in The Guardian and The Oxford Public Health Magazine.

Co-founder, Omair Vaiyani, said: “We started to explore different learning techniques such as Active Elaboration, Interleaved Practice and Spaced Repetition with psychology and artificial intelligence to identify user strengths and weakness.

“When all these techniques are combined, you have Synap, which is a truly personalised study partner for students – almost like having a private tutor in your pocket!”

Following a trial amongst 80,000 students, the app is officially launching across the UK this Autumn in collaboration with Oxford University Press, who will provide exclusive and wide-ranging study materials to users.